We
arrived in Rodrigues an hour before sunset. This was fortunate because
we wouldn't want to arrive here in the dark. To get to the inner harbour
there is a narrow entrance channel and at night the lights are very confusing,
especially since not all of them work. The best place to anchor is in
the far corner as far as possible away from the quayside. This is because
3 times a month the supply ship from Mauritius comes in at 6 am and needs
room to turn around. Any ship in the way will be asked to upanchor and
move out of its path. This happened to us the first night!

Rodrigues
is surrounded by a very extensive shallow reef. In a few places around
the island there is a pass through the reef but without local knowledge
not really accessible. The inner harbour at Port Mathurin is the only
good anchorage. The town is bustling with a lot of people and little shops.
The bakery sells French bread for only 20 cents a baguette! French cheese
on the other hand is expensive and is only available for a few days after
the supply ship comes in.

Most
of the island is quite dry. October is just before the dry season and
the hills were still green. But we heard that at the end of the dry season
the island sometimes runs out of fresh water and people have to fill buckets
for their daily use from big water containers. A specialty on Rodrigues
is dried octopus. The reef is so shallow that it can easily be walked
on. Every day many fishermen go out which is damaging the reef and the
catch has been declining. Shoals Rodrigues, a marine conservation and
education organisation is working hard to improve the situation by introducing
non-invasive octopus traps and educating the fishermen. We've got a page
on Shoals Rodrigues where you can read more
about them. The kids had a good time in Rodrigues and did a project on
the Meteorological Station and Jefferson,
a kid they befriended.

James

We
got befriended by James, an older Rodriguan gentleman. He enjoys
meeting the 'yachties' and keeps a record of all the boats that
visit Rodrigues. We visited his house one day and also met his
wife. Another day Casper and Alex went there by themselves. Casper
and James baked a cake together and Alex played with his grandson.
He was always giving us mangos and before we left a big hand of
bananas. In return John managed to repair his torch.

Fishing

The
fishing for big fish is very good around Rodrigues and sport fishing
is very popular with the tourists. Every day a boat would go out
with customers and come back loaded with tunas and sailfish. Occasionally,
they would catch a big shark. The shark in the image was full of
little sharks that must have been about ready to be born. Such a
shame!

We
rented a couple of motorbikes one weekend and toured around the island.
The roads are quiet and most of the time there are wonderful views of
the sea. What struck us is how cheerful and colourful the cemetaries were.
Below are a few images of Rodrigues.